NEWARK — In court today, the small-boned 80-year-old man seemed perfectly harmless. Again and again, he smiled warmly at his wife seated in the gallery, his wrinkled face appearing kind and grandfatherly behind black-rimmed glasses. And indeed, said his lawyer, defendant Joseph "Pepe" LaScala has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and simply may not have comprehended all that was happening to him.

But according to allegations set out in a 61-page complaint unsealed against LaScala and 13 other alleged Mafia-connected figures today, the old man had climbed through the ranks of New Jersey’s mob for years, eventually becoming a "made man" with the Genovese organized crime family. At one point in a complaint packed with the language of secretly taped conversations, an undercover FBI informant tells authorities LaScala was introduced to him as the "godfather of New Jersey."

Today, 12 of those 14 defendants — men with alleged nicknames like "Uncle Patsy," "The Flea" and "Worm" — appeared in a Newark courtroom largely filled with their worried-looking family members and friends. While two defendants remain at large, the other 12 were arrested this week at spots around New Jersey, including their homes in Monroe, Little Egg Harbor, Wall, New Milford, Springfield and Bayonne.

The defendants showed up in federal court in an array of blue, black and gray sweat shirts and jeans, light beige jackets and red polo shirts. A few had upper bodies that rippled with muscles as scowls crossed their faces. But others had large guts and stoic expressions, and appeared to look like anyone’s next-door neighbor.

In a major federal bust, 13 of the defendants are charged with both traditional Mafia crimes — like card-game gambling, loan-sharking and theft of goods — along with what U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman calls "the new wrinkle" of using an overseas sports-betting website to run an illegal gambling operation in northern New Jersey and elsewhere. The other defendant, Ken Baran, 49, of Bayonne, was charged with transmission of wagering information.

"Today’s arrests serve as a stark reminder that traditional organized crime continues to operate in New Jersey," said Michael Ward, the head of the FBI’s Newark division, in a statement released today by Fishman’s office.

"Bookmaking, loan-sharking, cargo thefts and illegal gambling in social clubs are the staples by which organized crime funds further criminal activity," Ward added. "The use of internet gambling and off-shore locales demonstrates an evolution and increased sophistication, but the threat of force or violence to serve their purpose remains the same."

Fishman himself said, "Law enforcement will use countermeasures that are just as sophisticated (as off-shore websites and internet-fueled gambling) to bring these criminal enterprises to justice."

According to federal authorities, who cited the complaint, most of the defendants — who range in age from 35 to 80 — worked for LaScala and were "associates" or "soldiers" in the Genovese crime family of La Cosa Nostra. They allegedly operated in crews, in northern New Jersey and elsewhere.

LaScala, of Monroe, was a "capo," or captain, prosecutors allege. Starting in 2008, they said, he directed the soldiers and associates in his crew to commit crimes including theft of goods and cargo — Italian wine and high-end plasma screen televisions — as well as to engage in the receipt of stolen property in interstate commerce, extortion, illegal gambling and the collection of unlawful debt.

But a good portion of the complaint also focused on LaScala crew members allegedly working alongside unnamed people running a Costa Rica-based sports-betting website, Beteagle.com, that serviced northern New Jersey and elsewhere. According to prosecutors, high-level associates of the crew acted as "agents" of the business, charging high interest and using threats to collect debts incurred on events like pro football games.

In one secretly recorded conversation, an undercover FBI informant is allegedly talking with defendant William Bruder, 42, when Bruder advises him not to cross the mob on gambling debts. "The guys I know are serious guys, but they’re also businessmen," Bruder allegedly says. "Guys I know done 20 years in jail. They've done everything."

The 13 defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy, and if convicted, face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, authorities said.

Baran, charged with transmission of wagering information, faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison if convicted. All but two of the defendants were given bail packages today that restrict their computer use. One defendant was detained, and one will have a detention hearing later this week.